Teaching, grading, and planning lessons. Not everyone knows how hard it is to be a teacher. Here at Foran, teachers are working extremely hard everyday.
There is more to being a teacher than just teaching. Mrs. Barbara Dooley teaches English, but just teaching a class is not the only way she ensures a student’s learning.
“Good relationships with students are absolutely beneficial, even essential. If the student does not trust the teacher, they can’t learn,” she says.
A student’s relationship with their teacher could even determine their grades.
“When students don’t have the best relationship with their teachers, they are more reluctant to ask for help and apply advice or suggestions they may get.” Mrs. Dooley says.
But when students do have a good relationship with teachers, it is almost the opposite.
“They are the students more comfortable asking for help. They take my feedback more seriously.” she adds.
Mrs. Dooley also states that teachers must be willing to change with the times. Things that teachers could do or say to students back when she was in high school would not be accepted now in our modern time. If teachers aren’t willing to change their teaching methods for students, the relationships and willingness to learn in that class would not be likely.
Being a teacher is very time consuming, how do teachers manage their workload, teach, and have their own personal lives everyday? Mr. Brian Dooling, who teaches History, shares the challenges he faces with this.
“As a teacher and a coach, I have to balance my schoolwork and my practices for swim. Due to the nature of teaching, every day and every week can be different,” Mr. Dooling adds, “Basically, teaching is a profession where the pieces are always moving and changing. While challenging, this constant change is also fun and exciting.”
Getting work done is important for Mr. Dooling, but it is even more important to get it done on time. Ms. Chelsie Lazaro, a Math teacher, has similar challenges with this, and shares that it can be quite stressful.
“There is so much that teachers have to do within one work day and there is never enough time to do it all. I often bring work home and work on the weekends and sometimes it can be very overwhelming.”
Being a teacher requires having a lot of patience, time management skills and good working habits. For students that want to become a teacher in the future, it is best to be prepared and know how to handle all these challenges. Luckily, Mr. Dooling shares his advice and strategies.
“One strategy that works really well for me is creating a priority list. It helps me to focus on which tasks I need to complete first and to get an overall view of all the work I need to complete. As an additional bonus to this strategy, I am further motivated by crossing things off my priority list.” he says.
Even with all the challenges and work teachers face, doing this job is always rewarding.
“While this job can be overwhelming, it can also be so so rewarding, and that’s what you need to focus on at the end of the day. You are interacting with so many students and helping and watching them grow into amazing people each day.” Mrs. Lazaro shares.
